"Calling Long Legs, calling Long Legs..."
"Potato Chip Girl, what do you want now?" Mai Sakatoku lay sprawled like a corpse on a luxurious king-sized bed, her voice full of helplessness.
"The lab results for 'Hunk Number One' are out..." Su Enxi's voice carried obvious exhaustion.
"When did we even get a Hunk Number One?" Mai jolted.
"That handsome little guy you gave your first kiss to. He's so fierce I gave him a nickname," Su said. "But that's not the point. The point is the results!"
"And?" Mai yawned. "Is he a humanoid Tyrannosaurus? Some noble First Generation?"
"Ever heard that sports joke?" Su opened a bag of chips and started crunching. "Blood test came back-pure performance-enhancing drugs. Not a drop of blood."
"So his entire genetic chain is draconic?" Mai thought she got it.
"No. The exact opposite." Su crushed a handful of chips. "There isn't a single trace of draconic DNA. He's a complete, textbook... ordinary human!"
"How is that possible?" Mai sat straight up. "I saw him ignite his Golden Eyes!"
"But the data doesn't lie." Su looked mournfully at the shattered chips in her hand. "Either his spit is weird, or you were hallucinating."
"...So what am I supposed to do now?" Mai felt a bad premonition.
"Obviously use your advantages as a long-legged beauty. Ask Hunk Number One out. See if you can draw some blood or something..."
"Do you think I'm stupid, or that he is?" Mai got off the bed and put her hands on her hips. Her fair, slender legs were breathtaking-unfortunately with no audience.
"It's just a date! Long Legs, you're not young anymore. Time to find a boyfriend! Look at the one I picked-Hunk Number One. Even the Boss can't see through him!" Su snickered.
"If I date a Dragon King," Mai suddenly asked, "does that mean my charm is legendary?"
"Legendary?" Su praised her without hesitation. "You'd be number one beauty in the world!" Then her voice dropped. "And if it's true, there are huge benefits."
"What benefits? The honor of giving birth to a Second Generation?" Mai sneered.
"Records say bathing in a Dragon King's blood grants protection. You'll never get lost, never fall into Death Servitude." Su started serious, then turned playful. "Doing that might count too. After all, there's a saying-one drop of essence equals ten drops of blood..."
"By that logic," Mai said flatly, "if a guy dates a female Dragon King, wouldn't it work the same way?"
"Exactly!" Su cheered.
...
Night.
Morin lay on his side and spoke casually. "Senior, you're not asleep yet?"
The golden light on the opposite wall flickered. Chu's voice followed. "Mm."
"Since we're both awake, let's chat." Morin opened his Golden Eyes. A beam of light projected onto the wall, instantly turning it into something like a set of wall lamps.
...Now Chu understood how Morin knew.
"Senior, do you know how I awakened?" Morin asked.
"Professor Schneider said you don't have to talk about it," Chu replied softly. "If you want to, I can guarantee I won't tell anyone."
"I knew you were good at keeping secrets." Morin paused. "Senior, do you know Odin?"
The golden light from the lower bunk surged. What had been a nightlight flared into something like twin spotlights.
"It was a stormy day," Morin said slowly. "Rain so heavy it felt hard to breathe. Clouds pressed down like they were collapsing. I was happy, though. I'd just been adopted. My uncle was driving a VW Phaeton, telling me about the room he'd prepared."
"Then He appeared."
"All traffic vanished. He rode an eight-legged horse, lightning everywhere, holding Gungnir. I think that was a god." Morin exhaled. "The moment I saw Him, my head split open. I don't remember what happened next."
"When I woke up, I was back in the orphanage. Everyone had forgotten my uncle. It was like that spear-Fate-cut every thread tying him to the world."
"Except you," Chu said, hoarse.
"Except me. Because I was there. And I survived." Morin sighed. "I gained my abilities. After that, I refused adoption. When the orphanage closed, I worked odd jobs."
"I could become the richest man alive. But after that day, I understood-money isn't as important as power."
"What do you plan to do?" Chu asked quietly.
"Work. Make money. Build strength." Morin fell silent, then continued. "Then go back and kill that bastard."
The dorm went silent.
A moment later, the spotlights shifted. Chu stood and looked directly at Morin.
"When that day comes," he said softly, "you must call me."
"Senior, you met Him too," Morin said with certainty. "I can feel the same aura."
"...I will kill Him at all costs."
"Oh no, oh no, I'm dead!"
At the same time, in Room 303 below, Lu Mingfei gnawed on a braised pork knuckle, looking like his soul had left his body. The food was excellent. That wasn't the problem.
"Relax. You've been saying that all night..." Finger tried to comfort him, but wilted under Lu's glare.
"I'm going to kill you!" Lu lunged, ready to die gloriously. Unfortunately, his frame was no match for Finger's. Finger held him back with one hand.
"Calm down, brother! I didn't expect this either!" Finger sounded flustered, but still managed to play a game one-handed. "Nobody wanted this, right?"
"If you hadn't egged me on, I wouldn't have joined the Student Union so fast!" Lu felt his future was pitch black.
At first, everything looked bright. Under Finger's "rational analysis," Lu assumed Morin would join the Student Union. So he joined early, planning to fleece Caesar for a bounty. Caesar paid generously-fifty thousand dollars, split evenly.
Lu had never seen that much money.
The scholarship would come later, once rankings were finalized. But all of this relied on one premise.
Morin joining the Student Union.
Then dinner happened.
Chu and Morin came down to eat. During the chat, Lu learned Chu was the President of the Lionheart Society-the Student Union's nemesis. Worse, Morin had already joined Lionheart.
It was like being struck by lightning.
Lu asked if he could quit and switch camps. The answer was no. Chu even comforted him, saying that with Morin-a walking bug with Divine Calculus-Lionheart was already stacked. If the first S-rank in forty years didn't join the Student Union, things would be boring.
Then Chu told Lu to give it his all.
This was insane.
Lu wondered if his Boss wanted to kill him for joining the rival camp.
Did Morin even know Lu's real strength?
Lu had fired a gun once in his life. Five bullets. His final score was fifty-one.
He was doomed.
He wanted to skip the Day of Liberty, but that meant losing face-and returning the money. When he rushed back to the dorm, Finger had already paid off his campus debt.
Only ten thousand remained.
Why was Morin's senior Chu, while his own was Finger?
Lu wanted to cry.
"Small problem, small problem!" Finger rubbed his hands. "What matters is opportunity. Ask yourself-don't you want to break free from your Boss and make a name?"
"No." Lu collapsed. "My dream is to follow the Boss and live comfortably."
"No ambition at all," Finger scratched his head.
"You have the nerve to say that?" Lu glared. "You have even less ambition."
"Think about it," Finger said calmly. "Why would your Boss keep a lackey like you? Bonds don't last forever. If you were a cute girl, you could warm his bed. But you don't have the assets."
"You're the cute girl!"
"If you can't warm the bed, you need value elsewhere. Strategy? Useless-Divine Calculus exists. That leaves combat. Cassell slays dragons. If you can't fight, what are you for?"
"I'm good at StarCraft..." Lu said weakly.
"Can you beat your Boss?"
"No."
"Then what value do you have?" Finger shook his head. "But you're S-rank. That means something's hidden. Why not show it?"
"...You have a point."
"So we're not returning the money," Finger concluded. "You need the Student Union as a stage."
"So all this was so we don't pay it back?!" Lu exploded. "I should clean house first!"
"Senior, why can't your Golden Eyes turn off?" Morin asked.
After Odin, Chu had grown closer to him. What started as senior and junior had turned into something else.
Chu had searched countless records. Odin was always listed as an enemy of dragons. Chu knew that wasn't true.
The road to death only needed one person.
But now another had appeared. A junior, with the same eyes. The same resolve.
Two people were now walking that road.
Chu had nothing left to hide.
"A special training method," Chu said softly. "It enhances lineage and strength. Severe side effects. Don't touch it."
"As your brother, how can I watch you walk to death?" Morin said. "No matter how strong it is, you can't beat Odin. He fights Dragon Kings."
"I can analyze it. Improve it. Lower the blood concentration."
"...Sleep." Chu's eyes flickered.
One person marked for death was enough.